Fantasy Baseball Week 23 Waiver Wire: Payton Tolle And 14 More Late-Season Pickups

Fantasy managers have four weeks to massage their teams to cash positions in their leagues. There is a fine line between chasing wins and strikeouts while maintaining a high ranking in ERA and WHIP. Does your team need saves, maybe steals? How can I move up a couple of points in batting average? All of these answers lie in the free agent pool, but will they perform up to hopes and expectations?

Catchers

Kyle Higashioka, Texas Rangers

After three dull weeks (5-for-39 with runs, one home run, and seven RBIs), Higashioka worked his way back to the free agent pool in many shallow leagues. He regains his power stroke over his last two starts (3-for-9 with two runs, two home runs, and six RBIs), making him the top waiver wire catcher this week.

Jimmy Crooks, St. Louis Cardinals

The Cardinals are calling up Crooks on Friday night to replace Yohel Pozo on their roster. Over 99 games at AAA this year, he hit .272 with 62 runs, 14 home runs, 79 RBIs over 394 at-bats. His bat has been hot in August (28-for-83 with 15 runs, three home runs, and 16 RBIs). Fantasy managers should expect possible help in batting average with some drag in power.

First Basemen

Gavin Sheets, San Diego Padres

An injury to Jackson Merrill opened up more at-bats for Sheet over the past two weeks. He has 12 hits over his previous 33 at-bats with seven runs, three home runs, and six RBIs. His playing time should remain high until Merril returns.

Nathaniel Lowe, Boston Red Sox

The Nationals released Lowe in mid-August, resulting in him finding a new home in the free agent pool in about one-third of 12-team leagues. Since arriving in Boston, he went 8-for-27 with five runs, one home run, and seven RBIs, filling their much-needed void at first base. His batting average (.221) remains below his career average, but Lowe is on pace to hit over 20 home runs for the second time in his career.

Second Basemen

Zack Gelof, Athletics

A hot month at AAA (.294/25/10/24/7 over 102 at-bats) gave Gelof the fuel to get back to the majors. Despite his success over this span, he still had a high strikeout rate (29.9), which is the easiest way to get benched in the majors.

The A’s slid him into their starting lineup on Monday night, and Tarik Skubal quickly whiffed him four times. After another 0-for-3 night with more strikeouts, I was surprised to see him back in the lineup. Gelof shook off his lack of contact to deliver an impact game (2-for-4 with a run, one home run, and four RBIs), putting him front and center in the free agent pool this week. His power/speed combo grades well, but he must put more balls in play to help fantasy teams.

Andres Gimenez, Toronto Blue Jays

After a dull 2025 season with some missed time due to an injury, Gimenez flashed over his last three starts (four hits over 10 at-bats with five runs, two home runs, three RBIs, and one steal). If given 500 at-bats this year, he would be on pace for about 70 runs, 15 home runs, 55 RBIs, and 25 stolen bases. He appears poised to be a valuable player in the free agent pool, available in 60% of leagues.

Third Base

Cesar Prieto, St. Louis Cardinals

After spending part of the past four seasons at AAA, Prieto will make his major league debut this weekend. He’s hitting .296 in 2025 over 406 at-bats with 71 runs, 10 home runs, 65 RBIs, and 11 steals. St. Louis gave him playing time at 2B (23), 3B (41), and SS (39) this year in the minors. Prieto has been trending higher over his last 46 at-bats (17-for-46 with seven runs, one home run, nine RBIs, and two steals). He must hit his way into more at-bats with the Cardinals to help fantasy teams.

Shortstop

Jordan Lawlar, Arizona Diamondbacks

Lawlar has only been a fantasy tease this season. The Diamondbacks will undoubtedly call him next week to give him a month of experience in the majors. Over his last 10 games at AAA, he went 12-for-43 with three runs, one home run, five RBIs, and two steals. His balance skill set should be an attractive commodity for fantasy teams in September, but Lawlar is far from a lock to be an impact option (0-for-19 with Arizona this year with nine strikeouts).

Outfielders

Jeremiah Jackson, Baltimore Orioles

Over his last 14 games, Jackson has a hit in every game except one, leading to a .370 batting average over 54 at-bats with seven runs, one home run, and nine RBIs. His overall production may be trailing, but Jackson was playing at a high level this year across his 162 at-bats at AAA (.377/29/11/22/9).

Harrison Bader, Philadelphia Phillies

Bader’s bat has been on the rise over his last eight games (14-for-26 with seven runs, one home run, and two RBIs). He brings a balanced skill set while sitting at times, working better in deep formats.

Luis Matos, San Francisco Giants

The Giants called up Matos last week, leading to a productive week (8-for-18 with five runs, two home runs, four RBIs, and two stolen bases). Unfortunately, he only has one hit over his first 10 at-bats his week with a run. Matos had a five-game hitting streak (8-for-22 with seven runs, two home runs, five RBIs, and one steal) before his call-up.

Esteury Ruiz, Los Angeles Dodgers

Since sending Ruiz back to AAA, he has 22 hits over 71 at-bats with 22 runs, four home runs, 14 RBIs, and 13 stolen bases. He also had an excellent approach over this span (19 walks and 14 strikeouts). For a fantasy team looking for speed out, the Dodgers should call him up next week for bench depth.

Starting Pitching

Payton Tolle, Boston Red Sox

Tolle will make his major league debut tonight after having success over his 20 games between High A, AA, and AAA (3.04 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, and 133 strikeouts over 91.2 innings). Boston drafted him in the second round of the 2024 MLB June Amateur Draft. He should be a top pick-up this week in all formats.

Kyle Harrison, Boston Red Sox

In August, Harrison made five starts at AAA, leading to a 2.35 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, and 24 strikeouts over 23.0 innings. Boston pitched him only three innings in his last appearance on August 26th, suggesting that the Red Sox will call him this year.

Kyle Bradish, Baltimore Orioles

After a suspect four starts at AAA (6.06 ERA, 1.68 WHIP, and 19 strikeouts over 16.1 innings), Bradish pitched well in his major league debut this week (two runs, four hits, two home runs, and 10 strikeouts). When at his best in 2023, he went 12-7 with a 2.83 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, and 168 strikeouts over 168.2 innings. I don’t expect him to be as dominant, but Bradish’s success will draw plenty of attention in the free agent market this week.